HOK’s new Seattle studio raised employee satisfaction 24%, demonstrating how neuroinclusive design can measurably boost well-being and performance.

Neuroinclusive design isn’t just something we provide client workplaces. It’s something we’re bringing into our own offices—with dramatic benefits.

In this chapter of HOK Forward, we’ll look at ways neuroinclusive design is changing workplace environments for the better in five real-life examples, beginning with HOK’s new Seattle studio.

HOK’s previous workplace in Seattle was no longer a good fit. Staff frequently complained about noise, light, temperature and—most often—a lack of space.

“We were packed in there like sardines,” recalls Todd Buchanan, senior regional practice leader for HOK’s Seattle studio. “We had three times as many people as you should have in an office that size.”

Based on that experience, Buchanan and the team had a list of wants for their new workplace. Yes, it had to be larger. More importantly, it had to attract employees by being a place where everyone could feel comfortable and productive.

“We had to answer the question: Why would people want to come to the office?” recalls Buchanan.

A big part of the answer lay in looking at the workplace from a neuroinclusive lens.

David Holt, practice leader, interiors, led the design. “We started with a focus on neuroinclusion, but it became more universal than that,” he says. “Neuroinclusive design isn’t about catering to a minority of people. It’s about catering to all people, considering the needs of all users.”

HOK’s new office occupies the fifth floor of 1200 Fifth, a 1960s-era tower in downtown Seattle. While the studio encompasses the entirety of the floor, it’s still relatively small at around 11,000 square feet.

To make the workplace as welcoming and comfortable as possible to a variety of users, Holt and his team laid out the space in different spatial zones. (See image below.)

The west side (above left) of the office is more active with reception, a break area and lounge, and conference rooms designed for different user types. The middle section of the office features open-office workstations and reservable huddle rooms for 2-4 people.

The east side (above right) of the office is a quieter zone for more focused work. It includes a materials library, workstations and private phone rooms and a wellness room.

“Watching how people use the space has been interesting,” says Buchanan. “They’re gravitating to the places that fit them best, which is exactly what we wanted. It’s proof of concept.”

In addition to laying out the workplace to support different employees and work types, the team also wanted the space to be as visually appealing, comfortable and flexible as possible.

The column-free building, designed by Minoru Yamasaki, allows natural light to reach deep into the floorplate. The design team intentionally left parts of the building’s waffle-grid ceiling exposed to showcase its architecture. Elsewhere, acoustic ceilings help absorb noise and provide a more finished look.

By varying ceiling heights throughout the workplace, the design responds to people’s innate prospect-refuge needs—offering open, expansive areas that inspire creativity alongside lower, more sheltered spaces that support focus and a sense of security.

Each workstation includes a sit-stand desk to support physical health, while biophilic design elements—such as wood detailing and organic-patterned flooring, carpeting and furniture—support mental well-being.

To give employees a sense of ownership, the team had HOK staff members help paint a mural that lines the reception entry. From up close, the mural resembles an abstract mosaic. From further away, it reveals a Pacific Northwest landscape of mountains, forest and water.

“We wanted people to feel that this was their studio, and the mural really speaks to that,” says Buchanan. “People literally had a hand in the design even if they weren’t part of the design team. And people are proud of that. It makes them want to come to the office.”

The workplace is targeting LEED Gold sustainability certification, which promotes health and well-being through strategies that enhance air quality, thermal comfort, daylight access and the use of low-emitting materials.

It’s not every day you get a chance to design a space for your own employees. The office redesign gave HOK a rare opportunity to track and record people’s reaction to the office, including through the use of fitness trackers.

Prior to the office move, HOK asked its Seattle employees to assess how well the existing workplace met their needs in a variety of ways, including aesthetics, lighting, thermal comfort, meeting and workstation choice and more. After the move, employees assessed how well the new office met those same needs.

As the priority/performance matrices below show, HOK’s old Seattle office often failed to live up to people’s expectations. By comparison, the new office meets people’s priorities and performance expectations as indicated by the results in the high-priority and high-performing section of the matrix. 

A comparison of the environmental assessments of the old and new offices shows that the new workplace increased employee satisfaction across all categories of user wants and desires.

The categories highlighted in orange in the table below shows areas where satisfaction increased the most. In total, the new workplace resulted in a 24% increase in employee satisfaction compared to the old office.

In addition to assessing people’s thoughts about working in the office, the Seattle team also tracked people’s physiological response to being in the office. HOK Seattle employees wore fitness trackers for weeks before and after the office move as well as during a several week period in which they worked exclusively from home during the office transition.

Data from the fitness trackers showed that being in the office had a positive impact on people’s health and well-being when it came to physical activity (21% more steps when working in the office) and slightly lowered resting heart rates (a 1% decrease compared to working from home).

By contrast, employees had slightly lower overall heart rates when working from home (75 beats per minute compared with 78 bpm in the office) and fewer breaths per minute (14 vs 15), both of which could be due to people being more physically active on days they work from the office. People also tended to sleep more when working from home, but their sleep was also more restless. (See table below.)

HOK’s new Seattle studio demonstrates how neuroinclusive design can measurably enhance employee satisfaction, health and well-being. By creating a variety of spaces that support different work styles and sensory needs, the team delivered a workplace where people feel both comfortable and empowered. The design didn’t just meet expectations—it transformed them. This project now serves as a living lab for understanding how thoughtful design can support every individual in the workplace.

The Seattle studio is a new example of neuroinclusive thinking in action. Four additional workplaces—profiled in Kay Sargent’s book Designing Neuroinclusive Workplaces—demonstrate how the same principles translate across sectors and scales:

A 68,000 sq.-ft. office on three floors supports six work modalities with circadian lighting, abundant plant life and acoustic treatments, earning WELL Platinum and BREEAM Excellent certifications. Arup reports a 10% increase in office attendance and more informal social activity.

The 450,000 sq-ft., 12 floor hub uses sensory considerate “neighborhoods,” intuitive wayfinding and an internal glass stair that encourages movement while targeting LEED Gold.

Opening in 2026, the 570,000 sq.-ft. R&D campus separates quiet research zones from lively community areas, layers biophilic elements and aims for LEED CI Platinum to attract and support diverse scientific talent.

In the video below, Ginena Hawkins, AstraZeneca’s director of workplace services, discusses the company’s approach to neuroinclusive design for it new Cambridge research space.

Companywide guidelines add adjustable work points, controllable lighting and a four level audit system that helps teams prioritize inclusive strategies by cost and impact, benefiting the entire workforce.

Detailed information about these four projects—along with practical design tips—appears in Designing Neuroinclusive Workplaces.